chris7997 Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 Loved Finals and I love DCI. But I have a concern about what DCI shows are becoming. I don't like the pseudo "spirituality" and incomprehensible meaning in many of these shows. It seems as though we are valuing "nothingness" and afraid of anything with meaning (because we're afraid of offending someone). Vague, valueless, and relativistic are what some of these shows are becoming. For Example: a show about wild horses [not a substantive story about a horse(s) or a metaphor of individualism, freedom, the West, etc., just about "wild horses" in general]; a show about numbers [not the values behind numbers, but just numbers themselves...what does that mean?]; a show about "Ink" and the written word [but one that was so incomprehensible and so busy with randomness and irrelevant (in my opinion) hip hop, I had no idea what they were trying to communicate.]... Are show designers trying to outsmart everyone by coming up with these ambiguous shows? There aren't even metaphors in these shows...it's just nothingness. It's up to "the interpreter" to decide what the show means to him or her. Well, that leaves the audience more confused and dispirited. I'm not saying everything has to be Pollyanish entertainment. I loved the Bluecoats show. It was brilliant. But too many shows I see are devoid of any meaning whatsoever...and they play to the audience's head, not the heart. Some of the only corps that buck this trend are Madison Scouts, Phantom Regiment, The Academy, and a few others. I'm not saying it can't be abstract, but even abstract breaks down something that has value. It's like Jazz music, even though spontaneous, still follows distinct and recognizable patterns. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FTNK Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 nah Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cleveland1 Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 "But too many shows I see are devoid of any meaning whatsoever...and they play to the audience's head, not the heart." I wonder how you feel about the Blue Knights. Since they do the cerebral shows but also tug at the heart strings. At least mine. To be honest i found 90s drum corps to be trending towards really abstract etuff, and that bled into the 2000s. Drum corps now is much more concrete, even if designers do fall short at times. And yes, some corps do shows that remind you of a different era of dci, and they do this intentionally. Largely i find the Cadets and Madison do this, to varying levels of success. Side by Side reminds me of a show that would fit in well in the mid 90s. Power of 10 reminds me of a show that would fit in well 10 years ago. Being a student of history and philosophy, its always fun to see history as a conversation. And in dci you see these trends that are reactions to other trends. In the end it feels like we are entering a post-post-modern period in drum corps, or meta-modern if you prefer the term. Obviously some corps are doing their own thing. But its an interesting trend that we see happening, and i wonder if it will stick. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kamarag Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 (edited) a show about "Ink" and the written word [but one that was so incomprehensible and so busy with randomness and irrelevant (in my opinion) hip hop, I had no idea what they were trying to communicate.]... You just defeated your own argument. That show was so full of depth and meaning...and you simply dismiss it out of hand. Every single thing you saw or heard them do had meaning. None of it was random. For example: The"hip hop" that you actually misidentified was a K-Pop song called "I Like You". The segment features an imaginary fairy tale character you may have heard of...the Big Bad Wolf. Now, BD's show featured the music of Stephen Sondheim, particularly from a show called Into the Woods. It's a show where there are many fairy tale characters, one of which is the Big Bad Wolf. In the show, the Big Bad Wolf's major line is...wait for it..."I like you." ...and that's just one very small example. Devils aren't the only ones demonstrating programming depth of that level either....Crown absolutely did (there were many Dante's Inferno references and influences), Troopers put so much effort into that "story" and how it was portrayed. Heck, every step the guard took was based on hours of watching horses move. Just because you don't catch depth and meaning it doesn't mean it isn't there. That's why "depth of programming" is a major component of the criteria in the general effect caption. Edited August 10, 2015 by Kamarag 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris7997 Posted August 10, 2015 Author Share Posted August 10, 2015 I loved Blue Knights. It did both. I agree, the 2000s were pretty abstract. But I found there is still a lot of abstract/modern nothingness going on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris7997 Posted August 10, 2015 Author Share Posted August 10, 2015 (edited) You just defeated your own argument. That show was so full of depth and meaning...and you simply dismiss it out of hand. Every single thing you saw or heard them do had meaning. None of it was random. For example: The"hip hop" that you actually misidentified was a K-Pop song called "I Like You". The segment features an imaginary fairy tale character you may have heard of...the Big Bad Wolf. Now, BD's show featured the music of Stephen Sondheim, particularly from a show called Into the Woods. It's a show where there are many fairy tale characters, one of which is the Big Bad Wolf. In the show, the Big Bad Wolf's major line is...wait for it..."I like you." ...and that's just one very small example. Devils aren't the only ones demonstrating programming depth of that level either....Crown absolutely did (there were many Dante's Inferno references and influences), Troopers put so much effort into that "story" and how it was portrayed. Heck, every step the guard took was based on hours of watching horses move. Just because you don't catch depth and meaning it doesn't mean it isn't there. That's why "depth of programming" is a major component of the criteria in the general effect caption. How many people in that audience would recognize it as a K-Pop song or a song called "I Like You?" I doubt many excluding young people would even know. Look, the Blue Devils's performance was stellar. I would give them a 10 out 10 for achievement. They did it well, I just didn't like the show. And that's my point...a show about "watching horses move." An entire show about watching horses that move?! What about a show about the crisis in Sudan? Or a show about the homeless, but then lifting them up out of poverty? Or a show about the physically disabled? But watching horses? I'm not saying it has be uber-political or perfectly serious...I'm just posting a challenge for better substance. Edited August 10, 2015 by chris7997 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flammaster Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 I think the OP here lacks depth perception. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NakedEye Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 How many people in that audience would recognize it as a K-Pop song or a song called "I Like You?" I doubt many excluding young people would even know. Anyone who is on the DCI email list, or who glanced at their website, as it was discussed in a Field Pass segment and various other news bits starting at the beginning of the year and continuing all season.... If you felt a Korean pop song and Little Red Riding Hood was too hard to understand, I'm interested in your thoughts on how to clearly present this concept of "Crisis in Sudan" to a mass audience in 10 minutes. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kamarag Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 (edited) How many people in that audience would recognize it as a K-Pop song or a song called "I Like You?" I doubt many excluding young people would even know. Look, the Blue Devils's performance was stellar. I would give them a 10 out 10 for achievement. Why would they need to know? Modern drum corps create programs that work on multiple levels. They work for the casual, one-time viewer, and they work for the hard-core fan that sees the show many times. Depth of program also makes it more interesting and engaging for the performers. *You* might not have understood what they were doing, but anyone who's seen Into the Woods got it. Anyone familiar with K-POP music would get it (far more young people than anyone here realizes). You also said, "I just didn't like it." Now we've reached the crux of your argument. You didn't get it. You didn't like it....both of those are ok. But you *could* have tried a little harder to understand it if you'd wanted to. It's not hard to figure out either... http://youtu.be/XtYbISpw460 Edited August 10, 2015 by Kamarag 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonwoody Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 You just defeated your own argument. That show was so full of depth and meaning...and you simply dismiss it out of hand. Every single thing you saw or heard them do had meaning. None of it was random. For example: The"hip hop" that you actually misidentified was a K-Pop song called "I Like You". The segment features an imaginary fairy tale character you may have heard of...the Big Bad Wolf. Now, BD's show featured the music of Stephen Sondheim, particularly from a show called Into the Woods. It's a show where there are many fairy tale characters, one of which is the Big Bad Wolf. In the show, the Big Bad Wolf's major line is...wait for it..."I like you." ...and that's just one very small example. Devils aren't the only ones demonstrating programming depth of that level either....Crown absolutely did (there were many Dante's Inferno references and influences), Troopers put so much effort into that "story" and how it was portrayed. Heck, every step the guard took was based on hours of watching horses move. Just because you don't catch depth and meaning it doesn't mean it isn't there. That's why "depth of programming" is a major component of the criteria in the general effect caption. I have to agree with you on some things but others not so much. I enjoyed this years show but heard many say "Here they ago again..what is this they are doing". For years people have complained the Devils play to the judges and the sheets and the audience is left out in the cold. They have had a few superior shows that hit on all cylinders but the majority the past 10-15 years were not designed for the paying customer to feel or enjoy. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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